Monday Devotional: Better a House of Mourning

November 2, 2015
By
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, Founder and President

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart." —Ecclesiastes 7:2In the Jewish tradition, we have a practice of visiting graves. We don’t just visit our loved ones, but we visit the gravesites of the righteous, tombs of the patriarchs and matriarchs, as well as many great Jewish sages and rabbis throughout history. Some Jews even make special trips to foreign countries where renownedTorah scholars have been buried, just for the privilege of praying there.Why do we do that?The answer is simply that while we do not pray to the dead, our prayers are different when in their presence, fueled by the passion and fire of those great individuals. Their extraordinary lives inspire us to live more powerfully.I once heard it said that the only thing separating the year of birth and the year of death on a gravestone is one small dash. That short line represents an entire life. The question is what are we doing between the bookends of our lives? When we stand at a gravesite, we are reminded that our lives — that short dash — have a beginning and an end. Understanding that lends a sense of urgency and wakes us from the dangerous spiritual slumber that can literally shorten the span of our meaningful years.In Ecclesiastes we read: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” Sure, it’s more fun to go to a wedding than a funeral, but a funeral is far more likely to inspire us to live better lives. There are gems of wisdom in every eulogy that we can all take to heart so that they influence how we live.A few verses later we read, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning . . .” (v.4). This Scripture teaches us that while we need not spend our days going to funerals, visiting the dead, or listening to eulogies, our hearts can symbolically reside in a house of mourning. In other words, if we are wise, we will live each day with the clarity and purpose that comes from contemplating a life. We will live every day to the fullest, and ultimately, a complete and meaningful life.I invite us all to greet every morning with a sense of gratitude for another day and with passionate motivation to make this day count. Just as every day has an end, so does every life. If we make the most of our days, we will have done the most with our lives. Someday, someone might stand at our final resting place and be inspired to live better. Sign up to receive Holy Land Moments devotionals like this one in your inbox every Sunday through Friday.

For elderly Jews like Tatiana in the far reaches of the former Soviet Union, the harsh winter months threaten their very survival. You can help provide winter relief essentials like heating fuel and warm clothing as well as food and medicine to an elderly widow who has no one else to care for her.

Here you’ll find an array of useful information on accommodations, transportation, exchanging currency, Israel's climate and customs, and much more. So get the most out of your trip to Israel with the help of The Fellowship.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) funds humanitarian aid to the needy in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world, promotes prayer and advocacy on behalf of the Jewish state, and provides resources that help build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews.